AZ has strengthened itself with Gonçalo Esteves. The 19-year-old right back comes over on loan from Sporting CP. The Portuguese youth international will stay for six months and immediately join AZ’s training camp in Spain.
Esteves is now the third Portuguese in Pascal Jansen’s selection. Last summer, Alexandre Penetra was signed until 2028 and Tiago Dantas came over on loan from Benfica.
Because Yukinari Sugawara will be active in the Asian Cup in the coming weeks, AZ was looking for an extra wing defender. Denso Kasius seems to be at the top of the pecking order to fill Sugawara’s place for the time being.
“This is a nice step for me,” says Gonçalo Esteves, who will play with shirt number 27 at AZ, on the AZ website. “I was looking for something new and AZ was very convincing. Right from the start it gave me a good feeling. The youth get the chance here and that of course appealed to me. My first impression of the team is that it is a very close-knit team. group and I’m really looking forward to getting started.”
Champions League
Esteves started his career in the youth of Porto, but moved to Sporting CP in 2021. At the club from Lisbon he played a total of ten times in the main team, including one match in the Champions League. This was in December 2021 against Ajax (4-2 defeat). This year he also made his debut with Portugal Under 20. He has played four times in this national team so far.